Thursday, April 12, 2007

So It Goes

"So it goes" was a recurring phrase used in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five whenever death or other transitions or unexplainable things occurred. I heard on the news this morning that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. died yesterday. So it goes.

Vonnegut was 84 and died of complications from a fall, ironic in a way since he was a lifelong smoker, and he referred to smoking as a "classy way to commit suicide." In my college days (early 70's), I was a huge fan of Vonnegut's writing. I loved his dark humor, his irreverant and skeptical take on just about everything, and his humanity. Favorite books included Slaughterhouse-Five, The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and even Slapstick, though that was not regarded (even by him) as one of his better efforts.

In recent years I started to re-read a few of his books. Some of them frankly seemed dated and I couldn't get through them, though I really enjoyed re-reading Slaughterhouse-Five and Sirens. He certainly was a unique personality and a thought-provoking (and laugh-provoking) writer.